Asterisks
by yu-pon
Summary: A short story written up in celebration for the Tanabata Festival - consists of two chapters. The first chapter is an entry for a Tanabata competition! The second is just a side story Enjoy! XDD
1. Today, 3 Years Later

**Asterisks**

Today, 3 years later

* * *

**Greetings!  
**Thank you for stumbling onto this page m(_ _)m  
This is... a participating entry for the Tanabata UlquiHime festival~~  
(so it's a Ulquiorra x Orihime fic of course! haha)

Hope that you guys will love it! (^_^)o

Disclaimers: I do not own Bleach and their characters (definitely); they are all masterpieces from Kubo-sensei~

* * *

_He loved to torment me until he deems fit.  
That's kind of unfair isn't it, Ulquiorra-san?_

To that tiny little silver dot that brightens a portion of the night sky,  
I could stare at you without blinking.  
It's true, I would then laugh at how silly I've become when my eyes turn all red.  
For they had turned red, tears would flow out more than usual.  
Perhaps, I might have just done that on purpose.

If I shut those weary eyes, I would remember that night when my heart shook so violently,  
I had always thought it fragmented into pieces.

There must be a reason why I was made to meet you.

"In the real world, the night sky would be filled with white stars," I pointed out to the endlessly piece of darkness that blanketed the sky at Hueco Mundo.

"I see," you would say, with no particular change of expression on your face.

At this point of time, I would pray that you would get a little more curious about the real world; and continue the conversation that had shown signs of a full stop.

"Which sky do you prefer?" Your voice would crack through the silence we held for three seconds.

"That one, of course," It was such an obvious answer.

"Why do you like one that's filled with holes?" You are the only one capable with asking such funny questions in a completely serious tone, complemented with a troubled frown.

I would laugh out uncontrollably; and then I'll get to see a slight change in your expression. It's so insignificant; I bet the others would tell me nothing had changed.

"What is so funny, woman? I'm asking you a question,"

I'm sorry; I should not be laughing because it seemed like a normal question to you. I just could not help it; these things have turned into my form of entertainment during the monochrome days here.

"Not holes. They are sources of light energy. The Sun is one example of a huge star," I read about this particular topic during Science classes.

"How do you even know that? You haven't even been to the Sun,"

That's right; you deny the truth about everything until you have seen the entire process yourself. It fascinates me to an extent; because of this silent denial syndrome that you were born with, my interactions with you gets extended a little.

"I don't know. I read in books,"

"Books? I see," You stumbled upon a foreign word that only people in the real world used; then you would pass off like you knew it from the start. I would spend time studying your response to my answers; how you struggled with the certain vocabulary I used; how you resisted the urge in you to refrain from asking so many curious questions. Such actions may be what I rarely would do over at the real world; but I'm now locked like a caged bird in Hueco Mundo – time hardly budged an inch – I had all the time to invent my own games; my own recreational playground.

I would take one small peek at your somewhat frustrated appearance.  
Most of the time, just that frown on your face is enough to make me smile.

I had realized facing you every day was not as bad as it had initially seemed to be.  
You could be an interesting addition to this stagnant lifestyle in this world.

_Back in the real world,  
Summer passed very quickly that year as compared to any ordinary day.  
That was because I had spent it with people I loved.  
Right now, my somewhat-tense autumn days with you,  
whizzed past me like a one-minute hourglass._

_Nothing could ever compare to that anymore, I suppose._

_How many more memories can I have of you?  
How many more left for me to keep them in my head?  
I wished you could reply with that straight and solemn face of yours_  
"_That in itself would form an infinite integer."_

"What are stars made of?" You thought that question out aloud. It had sounded like a pop quiz on astronomy.

"I don't know the real answer. I can give you a fake one."

"A_ fake_ one?"

" I hear from my classmates that when someone dies, they become stars in the sky,"

"I see," I was a little taken aback that you had accepted that superstition so easily – or was that reply just so that you could accommodate my beliefs? You hadn't exactly believed in that, right?

"So stars are dead souls? That's wrong, woman. Souls who die either go straight up to Soul Society; or they sink down to this world. You, of all people, should know it works."  
I knew you would say something like that; I should not have expected too much from you.

"That's true," It became my turn to compromise.

_Aren't we acting somewhat like … friends?_  
Friends quarrel and they bicker and they disagree.  
Minutes passed, they simmer down and they make up and they compromise.  
It was amusing; just plain thinking about the awkward similarities could make me chuckle silently.

"He's here," You commented while you stared at the blank oblong corridor.

"Who?"

"Your friend, Kurosaki Ichigo,"

"Kurosaki-kun," I had unknowingly observed the way you reacted to his name – you tried to look nonchalant; but the eyelids would look vaguely lowered – were you frustrated about this name that I had been repeating throughout the sparsely-numbered conversations we had with one another?

"Whatever. Watch how your friend falls under my blade,"You walked a few steps forward and raised your left hand a little.

"Stay very still and do not make a word," He even noticed I had moved my left leg an inch to the front.

"No. Not even that. Just watch it like a broadcast. Don't bother to help, it's futile,"

I simply could not bring myself to stand and watch two people fight to their deaths while I do nothing to stop them.  
"I will. You cannot stop me," I insisted, trying to pass off like a heroine in the movies whenever they face a bad guy.

"I can. Today's agenda is just not you, that's all," You replied with your slender back facing me.  
I take it as you just gave the green light to do so.

The fight gradually turned into a serious dilemma for me – who should I protect? _Kurosaki-kun of course! _ Then again, I halted because Kurosaki-kun disliked me interrupting the fight – he had reminded me so many times not to get involved with it. When you nearly landed a huge cut on Kurosaki-kun's shoulder, I decided to stop that attack even when I knew there might be a possibility that he can dodge your attack. At this point of time, I was still on Kurosaki-kun's side; for you were_ still_ dead serious and aggressive with those attacks.

Somehow, I ended up in frantic when you questioned, "Why did you save him?"

Do you really want to know the answer?  
I had wondered which was the "him" you referred to, that's all.  
Was it Kurosaki-kun, or was it you, that I had wanted to save?  
The question word "why" seemed to have filled me with guilt – that I had just disobeyed your initial instructions.

Why did I even interfere when both of you told me not to anyway?

In fact, I was worried for the both of you.

I did not want Kurosaki-kun to die; nor did I want you to get seriously injured.  
Why am I feeling this way towards the enemy?  
You seemed like you had already explained earlier, "She's one of us now."  
My heart was shivering weakly inside me.

I could hear black shadows drifting across my line of vision and then a loud clang of the dark blade; the white figure would hardly even make large movements – he defended until he spots a loophole and lands a deep cut on Kurosaki-kun. The memories I had of that fight were like an ancient book filled with fatal thorns on its cover – the more I struggle to pry open, the more intense the pain would become. I had so wanted to forget those awful recollections; I would selfishly wished that you won the fight, so that it might have been less painful for me to live through the remaining days – because I'll heal Kurosaki-kun even if you have to kill me.

It was too sudden for me to accept everything; your eyes, that hand and the fluttering diamond dust – they were all saying goodbye to me. I thought you said Espadas have very high levels of regeneration? What is happening to you?

_Don't go._ This thought floated up in my head._  
No, I can't think this way! If not, he'll end up like Sora-nii!!_

What should I do?  
My heart was experiencing upside-down turbulence.  
Even at the very final moment, you were able to calm me down with your voice. I could exhale properly because I heard you.  
"Are you afraid of me, woman?" I saw your bony hand reaching out for me, those black nails and the green irises were like telling me those familiar words, "Come with me, woman"_  
If it's you, I'll go anywhere. To the depths of the darkest places ever, I'll go with you.  
Take me, wherever you want to.  
_

"I'm not afraid,"

"I see," My hand tried so hard to reach out for those fingers; but we were just...

_We were just too far away._

The desert winds at Hueco Mundo blew in the opposite direction, and I saw your ashes following the trail of the breeze. I ran forward to catch the remaining bits with my palms and screamed out incoherently, the tears fell out and drenched the outfit that you had given me. I could feel Kurosaki-kun grabbing my shoulders and screaming something really loud at me; but I could not make out what he was trying to tell me – it was like watching a mime – everything else seemed so silent now.

"Will he go to Soul Society? Ne, Kurosaki-kun, can we find him at Soul Society? Let's go! I..."  
"Inoue..." Kurosaki-kun probably wanted to see him as much as I do; for the fight has not ended.

"Naa Inoue, we'll find a way to get him back. First, heal Ishida."  
You just made a promise, didn't you, Kurosaki-kun?

"Okay," I stood up and rubbed my tears away.

Why did the ashes on my fingers smelt of flowers?

_My heart shook so violently then, I felt it had fragmented into a million pieces.  
I hadn't known why the face that came up in my head next, changed.  
It was you; and that fragrance that you left behind._

_That night you left and turned into a single bright star in the sky; I rained like a mad woman.  
I had no idea that was how much I had wanted to see you again._

There must have been a reason why you were made to leave me.

***

_Today's the Seventh of July.  
I wonder how are you feeling today?_

I fastened the blue hair clips on the sides of my hair before I tied up my hair in a sideway bun and clipped it with a traditional hair accessory. I checked to see if the back ribbon of my yellow yukata was in proper position and fitted into my clogs which I had placed them by the shoe rack the previous night. I took a final look in the mirror before I waved to the photo frame in my house.

"I'm heading out, Sora-nii!" I jingled the keys as I locked the door firmly.

I flipped out my pink cell phone to double-check on the time that was ticking away on the screen – it was 6.40 – there would be ample time if I ran barefooted towards the bamboo trees that had been carefully grown by the local shrine. It did not affect me when I had to queue up in order to locate the spot to hang my wishes – it is believed that wishes would come true if one hangs it on the bamboo tree today. It was my third time trying my luck at it – this time, I did something different – I wrote two wishes on the paper. I clapped four times at the paper that twirled around above me – twice for myself, twice for you.

Night fell, and the sky was packed with the tiny twinkling lights.  
The stars were coming out to play._  
The spot where you are at now, can you see me? _

The fireworks festival would take place at 8p.m. - I was given tickets to attend that event – wouldn't it be very lonely to watch a spectacular scene like that on your own? I tucked the ticket back into my petite-sized bag. It was then I heard very faint footsteps approaching my right shoulder; it was walking briskly and it tapped me all of a sudden, I had reacted reflexively by blocking the attack by clutching the hand, but it came a little later.

"Santen...!!!" I shouted out.

As I tried to complete the final incantation but a pale hand covered my mouth. That hand that was on my mouth loaded a very familiar image in my head – it had black fingernails. I stopped struggling.

"Don't scream. I just want to ask for directions," My back was still facing this stranger.

_Have I heard this voice before?  
This frequency came to me like a lost distress signal retrieved by a lighthouse._

I turned around impatiently, like a child desperately trying to unwrap his Christmas presents.

The stranger had dark raven-colored hair and viridian irises; he wore a dark gray jacket with a high collared striped top, coupled with a pair of black denim jeans and khaki colored boots.

There must have been a reason why we have to meet again today.

"It's you," The tears were clouding my vision. My first wish came true tonight.

"I'm sorry. Do I know you?" You asked with a puzzled look.  
"It's you! Don't you even remember me?" I realized I was shaking your shoulders very hardly.

"No. I don't think I've seen you before," You shrugged.

_I had read of many tales when I was younger.  
In those tales, some meet their lost loved ones in a new light.  
These people are reborn into the same world with a different name,  
and have no memories of their past._

"What's your name then? I know someone like..." I looked up into his eyes – the color was still the same shade; except that the tear lines were all gone. He looked gloomy even without those lines.

_So, are you one of them?_

"Ulquiorra Schiffer," you replied before I even had the chance to finish my sentence.

_No, apparently not._  
"What a weird name," I giggled and pretended everything had blown over; yet those tears won't listen – they trickled down my cheeks.

"Are you okay, woman?" You had noticed my tears and rubbed them away with your right thumb. They felt a little warm on my cold cheeks. It was painful to hear you calling me "Woman"; because it would feel like three years had never passed at all.

I tried to correct you, "Inoue Orihime," I spoke softly._  
Will you let me be a wilful child for today?  
You made me cry, so you have to make it up._

_For that, you have to learn how to pronounce my name._

"I see. Nice to meet you," You reached out the wet fingers and gestured to shake my hand.

"O-ri-hi-me," I pointed my index finger at my own face and mouthed the syllables one by one.

"I know," you sighed.

"Nice to meet you," You repeated the greeting.

I giggled at the way some things do not seem to change at all. The similarities were still there – those eyes, the skin color and the dark liquorice-colored nails.

"Nice to meet you too," I finally was able to feel your fingers; they were slender, long and faintly warm.

"By the way, woman," I saw you reaching out for a piece of paper in your pocket – it was light-blue and rectangular; and I gasped silently when you revealed it – the ticket to the fireworks event.

"Do you know how to get to this place?" You pointed to the words printed on the ticket and placed your right hand back into the pocket.

_This man is almost you; he even has the same mannerisms.  
You shall be my white lie tonight._

I pulled out my ticket and waved in front of you.  
"I'm attending too," I could smile out properly now.  
Now, where's that reply which I have grown very accustomed to?

"I see," I nodded silently.

"Shall we go together then?" You took a glance at my cheeks, your eyes shifted to the corner; then you took out that hand you hid under the pocket and gestured if I would like to take it.

"Let's go!" I held your warm hand and pulled you forward; causing you to stagger a few steps because I had yanked it too hard. As I apologized while we rushed to the venue together, I noticed you placed the other hand back into your pockets – you are really amusing.

_Things that never came out from that frown, sounded like a prank to me right now.  
I'm experiencing a very beautiful prank now – so don't wake me up and spoil the fun._

I took a peek at the sky with light bluish gray clouds and patches of purple; I closed my eyes and whispered, "Thank you,"

The festival for the Seventh of July was located along the grassy slopes, overlooking the lake and the brightly-lit bridge. The lights of the bridge would be slightly dimmed so that the fireworks could steal the entire limelight. Food and game stalls were lined up at the bicycle tracks so as to make the waiting time for the fireworks display seem shorter. Karakura Town would always celebrate the 7th of July – it's like a second Valentine's Day for lovers with a touch of Asian traditions – we call it Tanabata. The story of the forlorn lovers would be told on television every year – how they met, separated, reunited and have to separate again at the end of the day; such stories that suspended between hope and despair.

_These people who celebrate this event; probably never understood how painful it must have been for the lovers._

The bicycle track that I had always travelled on my way to school was laid with colorful streamers and huge bamboo lanterns. Girls were dressed in individually-unique patterned yukatas, donning intricate hair accessories – everyone had wanted to look their best in front of their loved ones; the guys wore darker colored yukatas, and they held the hand of their girlfriends blissfully. Loud and joyous music filled the atmosphere; people were laughing and chatting excitedly about the grand show. The man whose hand I was now holding onto observed what had surrounded him with those melancholy eyes, as if he was taking silent photographs of the celebration. He had an expressionless and dazed look, as if the festive mood was unable to reach him; he did not even notice me staring at his chin from an angle.

"What is it?" His eyes shifted downwards.

"Nothing. It is just that you resemble my friend a lot," I remarked, while facing his side profile.

"I see," He looked away and kept his eyes on the crowds.

I forgot about that burning curiosity flame in you that never seem to have extinguished no matter how hard I used to cut the conversation.  
"Where is he now?" He asked in a very nonchalant tone, his eyes glancing over at the lake.

"He's up there," I pointed to the night sky.

"He works in space?" You gave me a very serious look. I had tried so hard to control myself from laughing out.

"No, he became a star in the sky," I tried to be a little more obvious by wriggling my index finger to show that that person was already dead.

"Oh, in that case you should have pointed to the cemetery," That's right, you were that dense. It was so you not to apologize after saying such blunt remarks – well you don't even know that could hurt someone's feelings anyway; _you don't have a heart, that's why._

Just as I was sighing out softly, you let go of my hand and bent down in front of a game stall; you looked up like a child who wanted a lollipop and asked "What's this?"

I bent down as well and pointed to the large glass tank, "Come over here. This is Kingyo Sukui" and I thought him the rules and how-to's of the game. It had brought back certain memories – the times where I explained the differences of our worlds to him.

"Can I have two nets?" I approached the shopkeeper.

"That would be 600 yen, child," The old man smiled as he handed the plastic nets to me. I gave one plastic net to my _partner_ and placed my index finger to my lips.

"Keep very quiet and watch," I grinned at him – this game was my forte – I used to compete with Tatsuki-chan to see who gets the most goldfish when we were teenagers.

_I swished the net as if it was a magic wand in front of that clueless young man._  
"_I'm showing you a magic trick. So be very enchanted by it, " I thought to myself._

"First, you have to dip the net into water to make it damp," I placed the paper netting on the surface of the water.

"Won't the net break faster that way?" Your eyes were following the plastic net I held onto.

"In fact, it lasts longer like this,"

"Strange," You commented quietly.

In a blink of an eye, I scooped up three goldfishes in two tries – two orange smaller ones and a white colored one. It was when I spotted the black goldfish. It swam very quickly even when it was slightly larger than the white one I just caught. Just when it was stationary on the paper netting, the net split apart and the goldfish broke free.

Your finger was following at the black goldfish and you sighed out, "It's too heavy for the net."

I should not just give up just like that,"I have to get it. Give me that net," I reached out for the net that you were twiddling with.

"Why?" You raised that hand of yours so as to keep the net out of reach from me.

"It looks a lot like _you_," I chuckled out without realizing I had blurted out accidentally, until a few seconds later. Indeed, those droopy eyes reminded me of something – but it was not you; not this guy beside me.

I became more confused as the goldfish swam past the both of us.  
It had those dead panned eyes that resembled _him_...and_ you_.

"I'll get it," He waved the net in the same fashion I had just did earlier.

"Well, you can always get the other goldfishes. The point of the game is just to scoop as much as you want, until the net breaks," I continued staring aimlessly at the water tank.

"It's okay, I'll get it," By the time I was looking at his side profile, he was already gazing at the water surface; as if he was applying some kind of psychological tactic onto the goldfishes.

_You won't know how elated I was when you insisted on getting it._

_It was equally as entertaining observing how you kept following the goldfish with your expressionless irises.  
I would see the frown whenever the goldfish swam in a different direction you had predicted._

_Were you offended because I said you looked like a fish?_

_In fact, you just wanted to scoop it out and kill it, didn't you?_

That man was excellent, to the extent the shopkeeper stared in amazement as he dipped the semi-translucent net into the surface of the water. He maintained steadiness when he spotted the black goldfish swimming towards him; and scooped it into the girl's pail in a blink of an eye – he could even predict which direction the goldfish would be swimming next. As the fish now swam peacefully in circles within the pail, he seemed to be thinking of something.

"Are there similarities?" You looked up and stared into my eyes. I nodded twice.

"This fish is black in color. I'm not. This fish is horizontally long. I'm not. So what are the similarities?"  
I could not even provide with him an explanation justifiable with proof. He would definitely not accept an answer that went around like "I feel it looks like you and that's that".

"It doesn't matter," he concluded and handed over the pail to the shopkeeper where he transferred the fishes into a oxygen-inflated plastic bag.

"Why did you want to catch that fish?" I stood up, with the bag of fishes hanging around my wrist.

"No particular reason," You shrugged and walked off.

_Say words that I really want to hear, will you?_

"Don't lie," I muttered.  
You lifted your left hand and pushed your fringe upwards.

"Because..." you sighed out.

_You wanted to kill the fish?_

"You smiled differently when you mentioned that goldfish."

_Those were words I really wanted to hear.  
I consoled myself – this is just a very sweet dream that I'm having for a day._

"Where to?" You looked over to your side, as if signalling me to walk over by your side.

"That way! It's starting soon!" This time you took my hand and followed my directions as we searched for a good spot to appreciate the fireworks display. The organizers of the event provided us with straw mats so that we would not stain our clothing when we sit on the wet grassy fields.

"What are fireworks?" You studied the blue ticket on your hand.

"Stars that explode into a thousand colors into the sky," I directed your attention towards the deep ultramarine sky.

"Stars don't explode under such circumstances,"_  
I almost forgot this side of you – your stand on what you believed in._

An awkward silence filled the two of us.  
"You know the story behind this Tanabata festival?" I tried to keep our conversation going.

"No," You leaned backwards, using your elbows to support your weight as you kept your eyes fixed on the sky.

"I'm not Japanese, remember?" You prompted me to elaborate more on the festival. I did not leave out a single detail, I went on talking about the two lovers; how much they had relied on the weather to meet every year.

"If it rains, then the magpies won't come to form the bridge..."

"What would happen?" You appeared to be very interested in this story.

"The lovers will meet; wishes made by us would come true,"

"It looks like it will rain today," His words came to me like a pail of cold water.

"The weather forecast for tonight is clear!" I retorted.

"The clouds over there, they are piling up at the corner. It will rain," You pointed at the eastern side of Karakura Town.

"What happens when it rains?" You seemed concerned about the change in weather.

"Wishes don't come true," I fiddled my fingers with the grass blades that stuck out of the mat.

"Things like wishes...they are just mere coincidences," Your eyes shifted onto me.

"Wishes, they don't exist at all," That was your forte isn't it? Denying existences in this world solely because you can't determine them with your own eyes.

I kept quiet for I knew that was a very difficult topic to start arguing with. If that man sitting beside me right now is really you, I'm sure I would be listening to your one-liners on why you think wishes do not exist. I already have one wish granted by the heavens today; it may or may not be a coincidence – but does it even matter at all?

The skies exploded into colors of yellow, blue and red in a simultaneous manner, shattering the awkward silence that had engulfed the two of us. The lights come on first, and then sounds like the sky is splitting could be heard. While everyone seemed to be enjoying the fireworks, I could not bring myself to smile at these colored sparkling flowers.

"These are fireworks?" You clarified with me.

"That's right,"

"You don't seem to be happy about them,"

"Because, this way, the lovers don't get to meet,"

"Why so?"

"The sound of the fireworks would scare all the magpies away,"

These flowers that shimmer in the sky; they are just selfish things we invent to keep ourselves smiling. I hadn't exactly paid attention to what you had said; but it seemed to me like an uninterested response towards that what-seemed nonsensical sentence. That was when I began to take a longer glance at your face. As of now, the fireworks had appeared to be rather meaningless too.

_I may see the world in a strange way.  
It may sound like a foolish remark.  
What if there were lovers who really waited for the magpie bridge to meet one another?_

_I don't rule out possibilities like you do,  
or coincidences like the way you would put it._

When the audience began to let out a disappointed sigh in unison, I knew the fireworks display had ended. My encounter with you would be ending soon as well.

You are just a temporary existence, because of the wish I made.  
If I do not leave you now, I will turn into someone addicted to you.  
"Thank you so much for today," I bowed in gratitude and turned away.

Footsteps followed me in the same speed I was walking.  
It picked up speed as I began to walk slightly faster.  
When it began to run, I had insufficient time to react – my wrist got pulled back,  
by his right hand.

_You never did such things before.  
It's just a prank set up by Kurosaki-kun right?_

"Why are you crying?" You asked with an aloof look, like you were asking that question without actually being concerned at all. It felt like another memory being pulled out of my heart and forced to playback right in front of my eyes – I had used to ask why there were tear lines under your eyes, in the same fashion like how you were questioning now. _It's tormenting_.

"It's nothing," I tried to shake his hand away, but he had held onto it quite tightly.

"Why won't you let go?" I raised my voice and more tears fell out.

"Why are you crying again?" Your eyes narrowed a little.

I looked away and replied softly, "For I'm a very foolish person."

The hand that I had been holding onto felt colder than before.  
"It doesn't make sense," You commented bluntly.

_Why did I end up wishing for your return for three consecutive years anyway? _

I had realized my other hand had been all clenched up.

_There's nothing to lose right now, Orihime.  
It's your chance to punish him!_

"For liking someone so much that when he does unexpected things like this, I can't stop my tears from falling out!" I closed my eyes and shouted out those words; knowing that my listener would take some time to digest what I was saying.

"That someone..." I could see that you were extremely confused.

"He's you," I looked away once more. I wasn't sure if I should even tell him that – for the guy that left a scar inside me had fluttered away from me in the form of dust particles. Yet, it doesn't matter anymore – I'm more than contented to have met a guy that was eighty percent close.

"Why aren't you rebutting?" It did not feel right that he took so long to conjure up a rejection reply.

"I don't know," You shrugged and tilted your head slightly to the left. The frown on your face drooped a little more.

"Girls don't usually confess first, you know," I could not believe those strong feelings had not got into this person – not even a single bit!

"I feel weird now," You breathed out those words quietly as your eyes cringed in pain. _Were you disappearing?_

"Where?" I was fearing the possibility that this would be our goodbye.

The hand that had gripped mine throughout the evening was exerting more force than usual; I had no strength to fight back that sudden movement he made as he pulled me closer towards him – I landed up bumping against his inner shirt.

"Here," You spoke indifferently, as if nothing had happened previously.

I was shaking for it was my first time getting so close to this man, that I was approximately a finger's distance away from his chest. As he pushed my head onto his chest, I thought what I heard next was just a made-up illusion. That palpitating sound that came from inside him was powerful enough for me to drench his shirt in tears.

"You stopped just now. Then why are you crying again?" Your frown was much better now – I could take that as a smile, can I ?

_Can you believe it? Two wishes came true today!_

There must be a reason why we should not leave one another anymore.

"You just proved to me that wishes aren't coincidences," I smiled as the remaining teardrops trickled down those flushing cheeks. That's how his heartbeat had sounded, monotonous yet calming to the ears; like the way he had always been to me.

_It didn't matter to me anymore, even if he was no longer the same man where we had shared those memories. We can always start anew, and create more sparkling memories._

"Asters," you remarked out of the blue. As I looked up in curiosity, you tried to look away by staring far at the silhouettes of the trees.

"You told me a story, so let me tell you a made-up tale about stars as well," you continued.

The man talked about the flower, that it was placed on the graves on soldiers to signify the wish that things could have turned out differently. The shape of the flower took the form of a star, and people believed these flowers originated from a goddess; who dwell in the sky as the Virgo star. She pitied the humans who had underwent a huge flood created by Zeus and her tears fell onto Earth, forming the flower.

"Why am I saying so much?" You muttered.

_You have no idea what the existence of "that" would do.  
It works wonders._

"I don't know," I imitated his movements by shrugging my shoulders and studied his reactions before I broke out into a soft laughter.

"Why do you know so much about asters?" I was too keen to know why he would know a story like that.

"I had wanted to give someone that," I could even see your eyes shifting to the side, then the line of vision would focus on the floor.

_No way. It can't be._

I turned around and shook his shoulders hard.  
"Do you remember who?"

"No," You replied with a straight face.

I had once heard from Rukia-chan that there were many ways to convey a message.  
Sometimes, spoken words alone would not be sufficient to complete the job. I touched both of his pale cheeks with my bare hands and stared into his green eyes. When you touch that person, he gets the message clearer for his heart receives it before his brain does. Rukia-chan would chuckle and remark, "It works even for the most ambiguous signals."

"But..." The slender-built man panicked for a split second.

You see, when you have a real heart, it reaches so much faster.  
"You had the same scent... So I thought I had already passed them to you,"

Those flowers that you left it back at Hueco Mundo,  
are they still blooming beautifully right now?

You probably held them so tightly in your hands that the scent lingered on even after your departure.  
How could you even know the real meaning of those flowers?  
You silly boy; you just hadn't realize "that" then.  
That's right, the reason must be...the existence of _that._

The shiny existence of the tiny little star forming inside you.  
The gradual longing I have for your presence – _our interconnected hearts.  
_

Droplets of water fell onto the ground as I remained astonished at the last sentence.  
"I told you it would rain today," You gave me a contented look and unbuttoned your collared shirt - your Hollow hole was filled up with pale skin.

"I...I have a foldable umbrella!" I snapped out of my daze and reached out for the umbrella inside my bag. It had always been my childhood dream to share a umbrella with a guy when it rains.

"Nah. I can always use Sonido...or something like that, fool," You bent over and took a glance at me.

"You...!"

Walking under a same umbrella? Not going to happen, it seems.

_It just occurred to me that he was playing pranks on me the entire time.  
That's really unfair, Ulquiorra-san!  


* * *

_**yu-pon's note:  
**Iyaaa -- it's been a long time!!  
Today, I'm here with an entry~  
Just when I thought I won't be able to complete this story; I filled up the last few parts at work - like scribbling down on paper and then typing work-related emails on the keyboard.

I joined the competition with the sole intention of having fun (gets beaten up)  
Happy Tanabata~!!  
It's told from Orihime's point of view.  
At times she describes the man in front of her in a second-person approach, sometimes third-person~  
that's inconsistency on her(and my) part XDD oops~ =DDD  
she was confused who this guy was in front of her that's all.

Tanabata is a festival in Japan -- on the 7th of July~  
when there's a festival over in Japan; it would be accompanied with game and food stalls; most of the times, a mini firework display too~  
That's why I had the couple play Kingyo Sukui (the goldfish-scooping game) and watch the fireworks.  
Karakura Town is a small town; so let's keep the fireworks a little less grand than the ones we usually catch on TV haha.

till we see one another again! thank you so much for the reviews!!  
i might not have the time anymore to reply to everyone but still thank you!! (^_^)o  
yu-pon deshita!


	2. Tomorrow, 3 Years Later

**Asterisks**

Tomorrow, 3 Years Later.

* * *

Continue reading **only** if you want to find out Ulquiorra's side XDD**  
**

* * *

Do you remember every single story you told me?  
Some were made up of real recollections; while there were others that were merely made-up fantasies.  
As absurd as it may have seemed, I had remembered you once said  
"Flowers were inventions by angels. For they could not love one another openly, they created flowers to convey their feelings to one another. Flowers were like messages; they had a unspeakable language hidden inside them."

_Angels? Flowers?_

_The words that that girl always used had me baffled.  
There would be a smile on her face whenever I looked up into her eyes, as if she had done it on purpose._"

There were lilac-tinged petals that lay hidden in the depths of Hueco Mundo.  
These things, with a bright yellow center, swayed softly to the side as the desert winds blew past them.  
No one knows how they had managed to thrive in such harsh conditions – moonlight and sparse water sources are definitely not sufficient for survival.  
When I had found out it was Tousen-san's, he explained that they were flowers known as "asters"; that he had a particular female friend who was very fond of this flower – she had given them to him when they parted.

Tousen-san was looking at a distance as he said, "Do you know what they mean? They were actually..."

_Flowers were like messages; they had with them an unspeakable language.  
Those petals would sit among the flowing sands, exposed under the bright moonlight with the sole intention of wanting to transmit their message to the designated receiver._

_That day when I had decided to take you there, I paused my footsteps.  
"Why is there a need to do such things?" I asked myself.  
I guess, it was your smile on that face; that thing that divides the two of us.  
It made me curious to experiment the ways to make that smile appear once more._

"Follow me, woman," I stood outside your door.  
Your lips shivered as you turned around to face me.

"Are you scared?" I studied the way she kept a distance from me; she was definitely afraid of something.

"..." You did not say a word but I could see you clenching your fists; that was easy to pick out – she was hiding the truth from me.

"There's no one left to defend you. You will die alone here with no one to watch over you; and no one would even realize when you are gone," Loneliness is something that humans fear; aren't you one of them as well?

Your eyes were firm and determined as you replied calmly, "I'm not scared. My heart is with them."

Do you have any idea how strange you are?_  
Your heart._

"You mean to say, you are a Hollow now too?" The words that came out from that woman was once again, complicated. I had to clarify once again with her.

"You can say that. I have no heart now," She placed her fingers over her chest.

"This heart is beating alongside with them. Even if you pry open this part of me, you won't find my heart."

"If I pry you open for real, what do I see?" I was almost sure what would be awaiting me – that fist-sized bloody beating device with four main arteries.

I knew you would fall silent at that question.

"That missing heart is just a fabricated theory to prevent yourself from falling into pieces. You humans always tell lies to console yourselves."

"That heart, does not exist." I had been so sure that I was right; for the heart that she had been harping on was just another made-up story – an invisible object would mean that it never existed at all.

Kurosaki Ichigo was climbing his way up the pillar; there was no way I could send her away to a safer place, nor could I take her to see those flowers. The battle of despair had just commenced.

_The message could not be conveyed to you._

When I knew my end was near, there was nothing left in my head except your orange-colored hair and your gray eyes. I could only see you. I guess it was like what Kurosaki Ichigo had remarked – I had become more human; more useless; I began to run incoherent things in my head. What did you call those things? That woman called them "thoughts".

_That in my hand, was the heart.  
It was colorless and weightless; but I could see it.  
A strange phenomenon. I was unable to lie about it being inexistent anymore._

_Lying just above that invisible heart, were those flowers.  
I may have wings but I'm never an angel.  
I may have been less Hollow but I still do not own feelings._

_Yet, something else was born out from an empty shell._

_An unexplainable want to hand over these flowers to you, so that you will be able to hear that hidden message.  
Why were you looking at me with those pitiful eyes?  
I don't need any of them at all._

"_Are you afraid of me?" I asked that young woman; as I threw my heart and those flowers over at her, silently._

_The real words were longer.  
Are you afraid that you are all alone now?  
With no one to watch over you anymore?  
Are you afraid that there was no one to talk to you to prevent you from turning crazy?  
Are you afraid that no one is standing at your side now?_

_Are you still afraid right now, if I had said all these to you?_

_Your lips opened slowly, the lower lip trembled a little.  
Your body language was telling me those signals I often saw – the answer was positive._

_Yet, your words were "I'm not afraid at all"_

_It gave me some kind of strength to face what was awaiting me.  
Whatever that was, I was ready for it._

_My hand was gone before you could catch them – they were drifting away like dust.  
My existence was fading into the sky.  
Ironically, I was about to deny my own existence._

_I'm leaving, woman.  
Don't cry. I'm not someone you should be shedding your tears for.  
Remember the flowers, they were what I had wanted to say to you._

_The last piece of memory that had registered on my head was still you, surrounded by that scent._

When an existence meets death, what does it see?  
It sees a gate that leads to two different possibilities.  
Hueco Mundo or Soul Society.

When I met death, what did I see?_  
Nothing. Nothing happened at all._

That was death itself.

***

If you opened your eyes and see the world in front of you in full color,  
would you be feeling astonished?  
You won't; but I will.  
For my world was made up of two primary colors – black and white.  
Trees that had shades of green and brown were considered to be peculiar.  
Won't you feel uneasy at what the world is becoming?

You won't; but I just did.

The first thing I did was to stare at my hand – it was still attached onto my body –_ weird._ I was wearing civilian clothes –_ weird._ There was a slip of blue paper inside one of the pockets – _weird._ I no longer have a zanpakutou strapped on my left hip –_ extremely weird._ I had partially concluded that I must have been held hostage; which explains why I was ripped off my blade. In additional to that, I seemed to have been extremely sluggish in my movements; I wasn't even able to walk properly. Something inside me was pulling myself towards the ground like a very strong gravitational force.

As I walked up the steep hill with much effort, thoughts ran through my mind for the first time of my life. This world flooded with different shades of color and that world with monochrome tints – Which was the real one? As I walked past the humans, I began to wonder how I had managed to land onto this place – my head was entirely blank. As I stared at the words printed on the blue ticket which I had just yanked out of my pocket, my head jerked in pain – it was loading certain fragmented memories. The images that I had in my head did not seem to be recollections; they were conversations that I had shared with a particular orange-colored hair woman.

_It was embarrassing to say.  
The sounds that I could remember were your laughter, your loud retaliations and your muffled voice whenever you cried.  
The scenes that I saw in my head all had you.  
The other things I remembered were my name and that I was an Espada.  
It felt like my job as an Espada revolved around you – the key to finding the scattered bits of the memory. _

_I knew it was definitely more than you, yet there was nothing else left in those playbacks._

The sky, for once was dark blue in color. I could still recall the color of the sky that I was used to – the clouds were dark gray and the sky would be black; it looked like it was endlessly deep. There were white speckled _holes_ that filled this sky – as if someone had not done a good job in coloring. It was then I recalled another conversation that woman had said about the skies in her world.

"In the real world, the night sky would be filled with white stars," were the exact words she had said as we gazed at the sky at my world. This strange place could be this woman's world – since they fitted the description perfectly – _the real world. She made it sound like my world was an complete impostor._

The people in this town seemed to be smiling at one another. Women were dressed in brighter colors while the men complemented them with darker colored outfits. Lanterns were strung on either sides of the pavement and soft music rang through the entire area. There was a incredibly long vertical line that was packed with people holding onto pieces of paper – it was this place where I detected that faint scent that I had grown too familiar with.

_The floral scent of asters; those that I had wanted to show her._

My legs were picking up speed on its own and they were traveling fast, after a period of strolling – this was considered fast. As the rear view of that woman came into sight, I found myself watching countless of flashbacks that formed the past interactions I had with this woman. Her back view was something I had been seeing every day when I brought her food – she would always be staring at the crescent moon with her hands crossed – the way she had stood right in front of me had not changed at all; except for the pale yellow outfit she was donning now. I knew that lady was preparing an attack as I approached near; I slowed down on purpose so that I could shut her mouth before she completes her incantation of "Santen Kesshun".

I covered her lips and whispered into her ears.

"I just want to ask you for directions, don't scream,"

_It was definitely her.  
She had tears welling up at her bottom lashes._

"It's you," She tried to calm herself down.

_That's right, it's me.  
Would you like to explain to me what's going on right now?_

_No. Perhaps things would get interesting if I had feigned ignorance._

_Let's assume I have zero recollections of you._

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" I gave her a puzzled look, my eyebrows narrowed.

"It's you right? Don't you even remember me? "She gave me a very hard shake on the shoulders; my head was rocking to and fro as if it was about to fall out out my neck.

_Interesting, isn't it? I've never seen this side of her before.  
She had always curbed crying; she had always acted like she was not afraid of anything._

_Right now, she seemed just like a small little child._

"I'm sorry. I really do not know you," I shrugged my shoulders.  
She pouted and sighed out softly; her shoulders dropped in disappointment. However, those words were not enough for her to give up completely.

"What's your name then?" She gave me a hopeful look and lifted her index finger, "You know I happen to know someone..."

I was unable to conjure up a good unknown name within such a short time, so I stuck to my old name.  
"Ulquiorra Schiffer," I had snapped in before she wanted to finish her sentence. She was thinking about something for a while before she broke out giggling.

"What a weird name," the tears trickled down her pinkish cheeks.

Those tears seemed to have some kind of power in them; they dealt with my body some kind of inner damage I could not comprehend. My chest area twitched in pain, as a result of seeing those tears.

_What should I do to stop you from looking like that?  
_"Are you okay, woman?" I should probably start off by asking her such questions.

"It's Inoue Orihime," She spoke in a soft tone.

"I see," I had known her name for a very long time. Why would she mention this all of a sudden?

"No, it's O-ri-hi-me," She pointed to herself as the syllables came out one by one.

"I know that," I sighed out aloud – I thought I was already dropping a hint for her.  
"Nice to meet you," _Shall we continue where we had left off, woman?_ I reached out my hand to her, signaling to her that I wanted to shake her hand.

Our hands touched for the first time. Her hands were thin and felt warmer than I had initially expected . A strange atmosphere encircled us at that instant. It was simple self-introduction gesture; yet it was able to make her smile out. Even if it had just lasted for two seconds, I knew she wasn't afraid to see me standing in front of her right now.

_The answer she had given to me was still the same._

I looked down and took a glance at the round bag that you were holding onto; I saw the same blue slip of paper that was sitting inside my pocket.

"Do you know how to get to this place?" I had guessed that we might be heading to the same location, after all.  
"I'm attending too!" You reached out for the ticket in your bag and waved happily at me.

"I see," I was right about the paper. _It's good that we are heading to the same place._

"Do you want to go with me?" I glanced at her mercury-tinted irises and felt a strange electric current running across my chest; the prick caused me to look away immediately. I took out my hand from the pockets and offered to take her there without having a single clue of how to get to the venue.

_Why am I starting to do things I've never done before?_

_It seemed that the body was doing things with a mind of its own; I had no authority over it._

_I was like a puppet suspended by strings, something else was controlling my actions.  
It must have something to do with that thing living inside me._

"Let's go!" You took the hand and ran forward in your wooden slippers. The sounds that rang hard every time your footwear hit the floor was like part of the rhythm for the surrounding music. You might not have noticed how much longer your hair had grown for you had pushed them to the back – they were dancing to the rhythm too. I wondered why Espadas were made to travel so quickly in Sonido – why can't we run slowly like this? For we were all trained to travel at hi-speeds, we were unable to stop and take a look at what had been surrounding us all the time – the human world was filled with curious things.

As the running slowed down, I could see people gathering along a long stretch of lights. These people were happily chatting, screaming and smiling. Some were holding hands and these particular moved generally slower than the rest. There were booths that were brightly lit and had a large see-through glass rectangular tank of fishes. An old man sat behind the tank and waved at me; gesturing for me to move closer to him. As I tugged her hand along with me, she watched how I had bent down to study the bright colored fishes.

"What are these?" I stared at the way the fishes were swimming around in a random manner. She patted the back of my hand and walked slightly further away from me and bent down as well.

"Come over here. This is Kingyo Sukui, a game where we use nets to scoop out as many fishes you want. Once the net breaks, the game is over, " Her eyes would gleam with excitement, as if she had wanted to play this game as well.

"Can I have two nets?" She pushed her hair to the back and handed over coins to the old man, who went on to pass her two plastic nets. "For you," The girl placed a finger in front of her lips.

"It goes like this .You have to dampen the net," She dipped the plastic net into the water. The goldfishes were scampering frantically away from the net as she lifted the plastic net.

"You are foolish. This would make the net break faster," A part of me was hinting to her that it was impossible for her to win the game.

"Ironically, it lasts longer like that," She had proven me wrong when she scooped out three goldfishes without much effort. The net only gave way when she tried to aim for a slightly larger black goldfish.

"The net could not take the weight of such a huge goldfish," I sighed out. Logic and proper analysis would be able to determine that it was close to impossible to scoop out that fish into the pail.

The girl was not listening to me at all. She reached out for the plastic net I was holding onto and muttered, "I have to get it. Give me your net,"_  
Why the sudden determination to prove me wrong again?_

"Why do you have to try so hard at something impossible?" I tried to ask her while keeping the net out of her reach.  
"Because it's not impossible."  
"You can get the other goldfishes. Why particularly this black one?"

"Because I only want this." It seemed to me she had set her eyes on this fish from the very beginning.

"Why?"  
"It looks too much like you, " She turned her face towards the tank and smiled.

_This smile suited you more than the previous one.  
It was brighter than all the lights here; it dazzled and pierced through that thing inside me.  
You probably don't know how much damage it can cause to me._

I studied that black goldfish as it swam past us and tried to pick out the similarities – there was none. There were zero similarities, starting from its shape to the color and its tail. You were that determined to get that because of that thing I had shared with the goldfish – if I had gotten it for you, would you tell me what was it?

"I'll get it," I told her. She had insisted that there wasn't a need to get it; that I could focus on getting the other fishes instead.

"It's okay. I'll get it," There was no meaning in getting the other fishes for it was only this black goldfish that shared the similarity. I was too keen to find out the answer that I hadn't really bothered about the other fishes that were in the same tank. The game was easier than she had explained to be. It was all about tactics and judgment – two traits that I had been equipped with since I was born. I dived the net into the tank gently, knowing very well that if I had used too much force, the pressure would break the net – the goldfish was heavy, so the process of scooping would have to be made quick. I grabbed the pail that she was holding onto and transferred the goldfish over as fast as I could. The goldfish probably did not even noticed the change in environment as it was still swimming peacefully within its new premises.

I was unable to identify anything that bore resemblance to me. If it had been a white goldfish, I might have assumed that it was my pale colored skin. If it had been a dark gray goldfish, I might have linked it to my jacket or my hair color. If it had been a green goldfish, as weird as it may have sounded, I could even comment that it was similar to the color of my eyes. Black wasn't a color I would usually be associated with – I'm not a Shinigami.

"Are there even similarities?" I seemed to shattered the smile on her face as she began to think of an answer.

_If you want to think it that way, even when I can't see it the same way as you did, you should continue doing it; for that was the only way to see you smile._

"It doesn't matter,_" _I stood up and waited for her to collect her winnings from the old man – it included that black goldfish, of course.

"Why did you have to catch that fish?" You had wanted to know the reason behind it.

"No particular reason," I tried to shun away from that question.

"You lied," She objected.

_Do you really want to know why?_

"You had a different smile on your face when you were looking at it."

_Again, I was saying things that I could not have brought myself to do it in the past.  
Where did all these courage come from?  
I recalled that day when she passed some of her strength to me.  
It might have been that._

She had stopped her interrogations. I was gazing at the crowd gathering at the grassy patches lying beyond these booths – there were guys taking the hands of the ladies and led them to sit on the yellowish straw mats. _Should we do the same too? It had looked like a compulsory ritual._

"Where should we go now?" I tried to remind her about the event she had to attend.

"Ah! That way! We have to hurry, it's starting soon!" She brightened up and pointed her frail finger at the dark green fields. I decided to follow the examples I had noticed earlier – I grabbed her by the other hand and followed wherever she directed.

That hand I was holding onto, I could hear her heart beating as my wrist brushed against hers.  
Her hands were slightly warmer as my fingers criss-crossed hers – she was probably feeling cold because of the night breeze that kept blowing past us. There was a soft gasp when my fingers touched hers, I would turn back to look at what was causing that reaction - a peaceful smile unveiled gradually on her face as she closed up the arm's distance by walking beside me. I took it that she was not irking the fact that I was doing such things to her.

As the two of us sat down on the straw mat, we stopped conversing to one another and acted like two complete strangers. I began to examine the ticket that gained the both of us access to this place.

"Hanabi Taikai?" I read out the syllables printed out on the ticket and ended off with a question mark, with hopes that she would correct my pronunciation.

"That's right, Fireworks Festival," You nodded and locked your knees close to your chest.

"What are fireworks?" These were vocabulary I had to brush up on.

I knew I would hear silly answers from a girl like you. It did not matter to me how outrageous your reply would seem to me, I could always argue with my facts. I would then take a glance at your pout and then you would retort back with your own reasons, proving me otherwise. It was not a bad idea to keep on irritating you, for that was the only way to break the silence between the two of us; the only way I could think of to keep us talking.

You disliked the fireworks, didn't you?

_It was so obvious when you looked away whenever the lights exploded in the sky.  
You even gave me a foolish reason why you did not like them – that they shooed all the magpies that would form the bridge so that lovers can reunite.  
Sometimes, it would help if you took the time to calm down and observe silently._

_Magpies and bridges?  
They probably chose to fly a little earlier, for they knew the dark clouds were forming in the east side.  
I probably crossed that bridge without knowing; that's how I woke up near you._

_Those things you wished for?  
They had already come true, you silly girl._

Stop crying already, will you?

I walked briskly after she left in a hurry, I still had unfinished words to convey to her.

If I had ran instead of walking, I feared the possibility of it evolving into Sonido and it will blow my cover. I sighed out as I caught hold of her bony wrist.

"Why are you crying?" I found myself repeating questions that she used to ask._  
For I should be the only one crying, so you shouldn't follow suit.  
Leave all your tears to me._

"Because I'm a very foolish person." I was staring at her glowing orange-colored hair as her muffled voice replied my question.

"You are foolish? It doesn't make sense," I had no idea why she had answered in that manner.

That girl turned out and raised her voice, her eyes locked directly at mine,  
"For liking someone so much that when he does unexpected things like this, I can't stop my tears from falling out!" The tears fell out like the pearl-shaped accessories on her ears.

She later explained that she had confessed her feelings for me.

I hadn't understood why she did that but the sight of her running tears came like a torrent of arrows piercing that thing inside me; I found it harder to stand up straight now, the pain was so unbearable that I felt I was about to collapse anytime.

"I feel weird," I had to be honest to her about this peculiar_ illness_ I was down with before I fully succumb to it.

"Where?" She showed me an expression that she was not going to believe me at all, yet there were hints that she was partially worried about what I was about to deliver to her.

"Here,"

I had no choice but to push her head close to my chest, the area where the pain was emanating from.

_Can you hear that? What is that?  
Why is it that we are sharing the same rhythm now?  
That loud echoing drumbeat that I was hearing all along, what do you people call that?  
You no longer have to open that mouth, I could even predict what you were about to say.  
That thing you people call, the heart._

Is this your heart that is beating inside me right now?  
I certainly felt that way about it.

There was that unforgettable scent of flowers that surrounded the two of us – it was the asters I had entrusted to her on that fateful day.

_Those flowers definitely had a few hidden messages._  
"_A longing feeling for someone faraway."  
Yet, I preferred the other message._

"_I will never forget you."_

_Did that message reach you?  
I guess it did, for the scent never left you._

Raindrops hit the ground as we shared a special moment together. You flustered and attempted to pull out your floral-printed foldable umbrella.

_Remember that message?  
I did not forget at all, not a single bit._

"I can use Sonido and take you home right now or something like that, fool," I bent over and glanced at her still astounded face.

"Heh? Ulquiorra-san?!" That confused expression on your face felt like a form of entertainment to me.

_I couldn't tell her that embarrassing fact.  
When she said "My heart was with them"  
I found that I could say something different to her._

_As she ran in the rain with her wet fingers in my cold palm,  
a thought came up in my head.  
_

_  
"Your heart is now inside me, woman"  


* * *

_**yu-pon's note:  
**Hello!! Thank you for reading (if anyone read this unknown addition XDD)  
I could explain why I had not updated for quite some time -- I was overseas~~  
(in the place where Bleach was born ^o^vv)

Aha~ I thought I could fill in a Ulquiorra-side story over here..hee!  
Well you can stop reading at Chapter 1 -- because it was meant to be a one-shot.  
This is just... a side chapter~ something I wrote out on my flight back home.

Orihime's was "Today, 3 years later" -- she meant the day they finally met, 3 years later.  
Ulquiorra's was "Tomorrow, 3 years later" -- he died, and when he woke up to tomorrow, it was 3 years later XDD  
well thought i should explain that XDD

anything else just drop me a message!  
ahh even if this might have been a lousy attempt to fill up the loopholes in chapter 1~~ i hope someone enjoyed this!  
it's still a lot of effort! ha~~

okay back to my rabbit hole.  
yu-pon deshita!


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